A Hollowing Flame
by DunG30n DraG0n
Summary: A re-telling of my first playthrough of Dark Souls with a little bit more story and dialogue.
1. The Undead Asylum

In the Age of Ancients the world was unformed, shrouded by fog. A land of gray crags, Archtrees and Everlasting Dragons. But then there was Fire, and with fire came disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, and of course, light and dark. Then from the dark, They came, and found the Souls of Lords within the flame. Nito, the First of the Dead. The Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos. Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights. And the Furtive Pygmy, so easily forgotten.  
With the strength of Lords, they challenged the Dragons. Gwyn's mighty bolts peeled apart their stone scales. The Witches weaved great firestorms. Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease. And Seath the Scaleless betrayed his own, and the Dragons were no more.  
Thus began the Age of Fire. But soon the flames will fade and only Dark will remain. Even now there are only embers, and man sees not light, but only endless night. And amongst the living are seen, carriers of the accursed Darksign.  
Yes, indeed. The Darksign brands the Undead. And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north, where they are locked away, to await the end of the world... This was my fate.  
Only, in the ancient legends it was stated, that one day an undead shall be chosen to leave the Undead Asylum, in pilgrimage, to the land of ancient lords, Lordran.  
\- I awoke to the sound of a grate sliding. I looked around my small circular cell. The walls were coated in moss and grime and the cracks in the floor as well as the space between the bricks all around me were full of water. The grate was above letting light in. I looked up and saw a knight in shining silver armor. He had moved the grate and before I could utter a single word he dropped a dead corpse of a fellow undead next to me. He was gone. I searched the body and found a broken sword and a key. There couldn't have been more than four inches of blade left. Damaged leather wrapped around the hilt told me the sword had seen it's fair share of battles. It wasn't much, but in the Undead Asylum it was better than nothing. The key was old and rusted. It had two short blades which went into the lock it was used for and had a circular end to it. My only assumption was that this was the key to my cell. To every cell. I put the key in and opened the door.  
When I stepped out of my cell I was greeted with darkness. A small corridor full of wailing and agony, cells lining one side of the wall. Opposite the cells, one could look through metal bars and see a drop that would kill even a demon. A room full of treasures lay at the bottom of the drop. The belongings of every poor bastard in the Asylum. I kept moving forward. Standing by a torch was an undead hitting his head on the wall. The darksign drives most men insane and though I am strong willed and of sound mind, it does tempt me with its promises of a new life. This undead would not sit idly by as I strolled past, so I did what anyone in my position would do. I sneaked up behind it and shoved the small blade into the back of its neck and out the front. When I pulled the blade out it collapsed to the ground. The blade, though broken, still had a bite to it.  
I walked through the seemingly endless corridor until I saw a light. When I stepped outside the light was bright. A small square courtyard stood before me. It was the first time I had seen anything besides bricks and cloth for an eternity. Across the way was a giant door stretching nearly as tall as the prison. In the center of the courtyard stood a bonfire. When I approached it I saw it looked strange. The ashes were made of bones of other undead and standing in the ashes was a smoldering sword. It had a coiled blade and resonated heat. The darksign spoke to me. "Link the fire.." it said. And so I held out my hand and granted the darksign's wish. The fire within the sword ignited and I felt the souls of the undead swirl around me. I sat at the bonfire and rested.  
\- When I felt rested enough to move I stood in front of the door, gazing at the phenomenal sight. Never before had I seen a door this enormous. I pushed on it and it creaked and groaned. Dust and dirt fell from the cracks in the door. I heaved the door with all my strength. My muscles ached and my strength was fading, but I kept pushing, unwilling to give up. The door opened slowly over what seemed like ages. When I was mostly between the crack in the doors I shoved them aside and the resistance was gone. They moved with ease to reveal a giant room with another door on the other side of it.  
I walked forward cautiously, for you never know what may lie in wait around any corner of the Undead Asylum. When I got close to the center of the room the door I walked in closed behind me. I didn't have to look, I could hear the door swing shut as if it were a wooden door being slammed. I was trapped and I had no idea what was going to happen. A sound of the wind changing quickly told me I was in danger. Instinctively I rolled to the left and a giant bone-like hammer crashed down where I was standing. A giant demon came crashing down after the weapon and lifted it over his shoulder. "Well well well.." he said in a deep booming voice. "One of you escaped.. This just wont do." He smiled. "I guess I should introduce myself. I am the Warden of the Asylum," He pointed at me "and you shouldn't have tried to escape. Now die!" And with that he swung his hammer, slamming me into a wall. He slammed it into me one more time to make sure I was dead and it was the last thing I felt.  
I woke next to the bonfire and could hear the Warden stomping around guarding what I assumed to be the exit of the prison. I heard the darksign speak again. "My child of hollows... rise if you would.." It had renewed my life force at the bonfire. I walked to the door and opened it again. It had little to no resistance this time, as if it wanted me to open it. Inside the Warden was staring at me.  
"Back again?" He said with a mocking tone, his hammer swung over his shoulder. I readied myself and he grinned. "Fine. Some just don't learn!" He swung his hammer horizontally but this time I was ready. I back stepped away from him and ran straight under him after his swing missed. When I was behind him I stopped to look around. I was trying to find some sort of weakness to exploit, however I soon realized after dodging his tail that with my broken blade I would never slay the beast. I looked to the left and saw a tunnel blocked by some wooden crates and barrels. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and rolled into the objects in the path. At that moment the hammer hit the ground behind me and I was flung into the tunnel. "Get back here!" He yelled.  
\- "No thanks.." I muttered to myself as I walked through the tunnel to a small sewer room. An undead charged at me. I sidestepped around and stabbed him twice in the head. "Vile fucking creatures." I said with disgust. It had been so long I couldn't even believe that these things were once like me. I saw something on his corpse that was very familiar. An old iron sword of a wandering knight. My sword. And in the corner, shining like a star in the darkness, my armor. I donned it and felt its weight on my shoulders, The feeling of its protection comforting me. I pushed forward around a corner and immediately took cover against the wall. An arrow flew past. "Fuck.." I peaked around the corner and saw a long hallway sloping up and an undead with a crossbow at the end of it. There was an alcove I could hide in about halfway down the hall. Taking a deep breath, I sprinted down the hallway. I made it to the alcove but alas, as I was taking cover, an arrow pierced my shoulder under my pauldron. I winced in pain and looked down. A chest shield with the insignia of a dragon lay at my feet. I picked it up and put it on my arm. "Alright you son of a bitch.. Show me what you've got." I charged forward and blocked a single arrow before I was on him. Thrusting my sword through his gut, I watched him go limp and shoved him off my blade.  
I got to a set of stairs. One going up and one going down. As I started to go up I heard something rolling and dodged off the stairs to the bottom of the ones below. There was a door and through it, the bonfire I had rested at. I kicked the door made of iron bars open and walked back up the stairs. The object I heard rolling was a giant boulder that had been pushed down the stairs. It crashed through the wall at the end of the stairs and there I saw him. He was wearing the armor of a knight of Astora. It was dirty with dust and dented from the bricks of the wall crashing on top of him. He was the knight who had dropped the corpse with the cell key down to me. I walked to him and he looked up at me. He spoke in a weak voice. "Oh.. you... You're no hollow, eh?" I shook my head. "Thank goodness... I'm done for, i'm afraid... I'll die soon, then lose my sanity..." He looked down then back up at me. "I wish to ask something of you.. You and I, we're both undead... Hear me out, will you?" I knelt beside him.  
"Speak your mind, brave knight of Astora." I said in a hushed voice. He nodded and continued.  
"I am Oscar of Astora... Regrettably, I have failed my mission.. but perhaps you can keep the torch lit.. There is an old saying in my family... Thou who art undead, art chosen.. In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords.. When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the undead, thou shalt know. Well, now you know... and I can die with hope in my heart... Oh, one more thing... here, take this.." He pulled a small green flask from his belt. It shone with a liquid as bright as the sun itself. "An estus flask, an undead favorite. Oh, and this.." He pulled a key from his greaves and pointed to a door at the top of the stairs. "Now I must bid you farewell.. I would hate to harm you after death... So, go now... and thank you..." I nodded to him and took my leave up the stairs.  
\- When I opened the door I walked out onto the ramparts of the Asylum. I walked forward and was attacked by three undead. Two with swords and one with a shield and spear. I rolled behind one and stabbed him as he swung. The other sword wielder attacked quickly so I hid behind his dead cohort's body. His sword hit the corpse and I shoved my sword deeper through it into him. The bodies fell with my sword and the spear was lunged at me. I grabbed the spear and shoved it into him. The undead fell back and I shoved the top edge of my shield into his neck and severed his head. I pulled my sword out of the bodies and kept going.  
I walked forward and turned a corner on the ramparts. Another way back into the Asylum stood in front of me and to my left was a mysterious door made of fog so thick that not even my sword could cut it. Yet again the darksign spoke. "Touch the fog.." So rarely it spoke to me. I reached out my arm and touched the mysterious fog wall and it pulled me into it. I was on a balcony overlooking the room the Warden was in. There he stood below me, waiting for me to appear through the massive door by the bonfire. I looked at my sword. It shined crimson with blood. At that moment I took a leap of faith off of the balcony and plunged my sword in his head. He roared in agony.  
"How did you!? DIE!" He reached up to his head and I pulled my sword out and slid down his back, cutting off the end of his tail on the way down. He swung his tail at me and barely missed. I ran under him and shoved my sword into his underside, running it through him forward. I rolled as he toppled forward, dropping his hammer. He lifted his head, a mistake he shouldn't have made. I thrust my sword into his neck, aimed at his head and leaned close. I whispered in a mocking tone.  
"Die.." And with that, I thrust my sword deep in his flesh until only the hilt was out and waited for the life to drain from his demonic red eyes. I pulled the blade and looked over his hammer. On the end was a large key which I plucked from it. I walked to the large locked door and put the key in. It turned by itself as if possessed. The doors opened and there I saw. A cliff at the edge of a mountain. Graves on either side of the path leading up to it. As I got to the edge I peered over it. A giant crow flew up and cawed at me. It reached its talons out for me and grabbed me. I thought for sure It would rip me apart, however it didn't. There was nothing I could do other than stay still and watch where it was taking me.


	2. Exploring Firelink

The bird cawed as it flew, black as night. A shadow in the cloudy sky. From a distance I could see a massive city, A giant castle and cathedral looming over it. The wind was fierce but died down as we descended. The Astoran knight had said that an undead would be chosen to ring the bell, could I have been that undead?  
The crow made an effort to set me down gently then flew to the top of some nearby ruins and nested. In front of me was a cage built into a rock face and inside was a woman. She did not speak, but simply looked at me. "Hello?" I said but again, she did not speak. I saw stairs slightly to the left and right. I took the right way though they both led to the same place. Directly above where her cell was, a bonfire sat. The darksign called to me.  
"Touch the flame..." It said longingly.  
"Yes, yes. I know how this works." I said as I held my hand out. The darksign ignited the flame and I sat and rested. The souls scattering around me again. Just then I heard a voice from in front of me and raised my head. There sat a man on a set of steps in rusty chain armor with a sword by his side.  
\- "Well, what do we have here? You must be a new arrival. Let me guess. Fate of the Undead, right? Well you're not the first." I didn't know what to say. I was under the impression that only one undead would be chosen, not every bloody bastard that managed to jump out of the Asylum with a darksign on his hand. He spoke again with a bit less cheer in his voice. "Well there's no salvation here. You'd have done better to rot in the Undead Asylum... But, too late now." He said with a sigh.  
"Are you implying I can't handle this?" I said with scorn in my voice. He smiled a smug little grin.  
"I'm saying no one can. But... since you're here, I suppose I can help you out. There are actually two Bells of Awakening. One's up above, in the Undead Church..." He pointed up to the cathedral at the top of the city I saw on the flight over. "The other," He pointed at the ground. "is far, far below, in the ruins at the base of Blighttown. Ring them both, and something happens... Brilliant, right?" He said with a smile. I rolled my eyes though he couldn't see it through my helmet and crossed my arms in disapproval. "Look, its not much to go on, but I have a feeling that wont stop you. So, what are you waiting for?" He motioned me toward the church. "Off you go. It IS why you came, isn't it? To this accursed land of the Undead?" He let out a chuckle then leaned back against a wall and relaxed.  
I was tempted to run him through but I thought better of it. Though he was arrogant, he had information that could be of some use to me. I walked up the stairs past him. The place seemed to be an old shrine of some sort. I yelled back at the warrior as I was looking around. "What is this place called?" I said as I walked around.  
"They call it Firelink. No godly idea why." I ran my fingers along some bricks then looked back at him.  
"I didn't catch your name." He sat up as I walked forward. The crow had landed in front of me and knelt its head down to me.  
"I didn't throw it.." He chuckled at his own joke while I gave the crow a bit of petting.  
"Well will you at least tell me what crest you wear, What city you hail from?" He shook his head.  
"You ask too many questions." He sighed and continued. "But if you must know, I don't have a crest. I'm a crestfallen warrior if you will." The crow nuzzled me and I put its head under my arm. He saw and chuckled. "The bird's name is Snugly."  
I laughed and patted its head a bit. "Why Snugly?" He turned back toward me.  
"Because he's one of the only things that wont kill you in this fucking place... Plus I fell asleep on him one time. Very soft." I smiled a bit.  
\- I walked back to the bonfire and sat near it. Everything was silent. Finally the warrior spoke. "Have you.. Have you seen that terribly morose lass?... The Fire Keeper." I nodded. He was speaking of the woman in the cell. "She's stuck keeping the embers of this bonfire alight. Sad, really. She's mute and bound to this forsaken place." He got a smile and spoke with a laugh. "They probably cut her tongue out back in her village, so that she'd never say any god's name in vain. Hah hah hah.." His voice became a bit more serious when he sighed his laugh away. "How do these martyrs keep chugging along? I'd peter out in an instant..."  
"Some just want to keep living." I said  
"Living in this hell is a curse.. and that little fire in your hand, the darksign. Heh, wouldnt let you die if you wanted to.." Silence closed around us for what seemed like hours but, in actuality was only a couple minutes.  
"So..." I said inquisitively. "Has anyone else been here?"  
"Many. they've all gone to ring the bells. Heh heh, probably hollowed by the darksign by now."  
"Well if they aren't, I'll send them back here." He laughed at the thought.  
"There's no bloody point, they'll hollow eventually, we all will. Such is the life of an undead.." I stood up and pulled my sword out of it's sheathe. Looking toward the Undead Church, I thought of the sound of the bell tolling. "Oh, you're leaving? Well, I don't want to sound pessimistic but I do not believe that you'll make it back here so, goodbye." He said with a smile. I ignored his mockery and set off toward the first bell.


End file.
